Entertainment

Google Pushes Further into Yelp's Territory with Maps for Android Update

In an update coupled with Google Maps 4.4 for Android 1.6 and above, Google has improved the mobile offering of Places. Android owners can now add the Places icon to their home screens and use it to quickly locate nearby venues and their accompanying information-rich business listings.

Returned results are based on its expanding database of Place Pages. When pulling up a Place Page for a venue, users can glimpse the open hours for the business, easily see the distance and compass direction, and check out prices, parking and restaurant menu links.

The enhanced mobile Places offering will also be rolled out to BlackBerry users when Google updates m.google.com/maps.

The Google Places product as a whole continues to evolve as the company makes an aggressive attempt to usurp Yelp, and all other other competitors, in the minds of web and mobile users who are searching for local business information.

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